Search

BBC journalists begin strike ballot

NUJ members at the BBC today started voting over whether or not to strike over job losses.

The ballot is in response to the BBC’s Delivering Quality First proposals which include axing thousands of jobs at the Corporation.

The BBC intends to cut its budget by 20 per cent over the next five years; that amounts to £670million in savings every year, during that period. This is the result of a deal done by Mark Thompson, the BBC’s director general, behind closed doors last autumn, which froze the licence fee until 2017.

These cuts come on top of many years of other cutbacks; since 2004 more than 7,000 jobs have gone at the BBC, that is 1,000 every year. Meanwhile the difference between pay at the top and bottom of the corporation stands at 47 times the lowest salary.

The BBC has refused to wait until the outcome of the BBC Trust’s public consultation on programme cuts before beginning the process for making people redundant. The BBC has refused to lift the dates they intend to impose changes to new joiners’ terms and conditions and the BBC has refused to initiate a voluntary redundancy scheme across the BBC. As a result, all trade union members at the BBC will be balloted. The NUJ, Bectu and Unite are urging members to vote yes.

General secretary Michelle Stanistreet said: “We are urging all NUJ members at the BBC to vote yes for action. Staff are fighting not only for their jobs, but for the BBC’s very future as broadcaster and world class public service. The launch of the ballot shows our determination to fight for our BBC and refuse to accept the wholesale destruction of the world’s most respected broadcasting Corporation.”